April 23, 2014
Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan wind project moves forward

JOC NEWS SERVICE | Journal of Commerce | April 23, 2014 | www.journalofcommerce.com

The Morse wind energy project in Southern Saskatchewan is moving forward after the purchase of wind turbines from Siemens Canada.

Preparations are being made to start construction this summer.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has entered a partnership with Siemens Canada to supply, deliver and commission 10 direct drive SWT-2.3-113 wind turbines for the project near Morse, which is about 180 km west of Regina.

The deal includes a 10-year service and maintenance agreement and is Siemens’ first wind turbine installation in the province.

The 23-MW project will be situated on 1,120 acres of private lands, with additional land under lease or option for future expansion.

It will provide renewable energy to more than 8,000 Saskatchewan households, which represents about 10 per cent of the total wind power generation capacity in the province.

Algonquin purchased the assets related to two proposed adjacent 10 MW wind energy development projects from a local developer Kineticor Renewables Inc. in March 2011.

A further five MW was developed by Algonquin independently.

SaskPower has offered Algonquin a 20 year contract for the procurement of 23MW of wind generation to match the capacity of the proposed turbines.

The capital cost to construct the Morse wind project is estimated to be $81.3 million, inclusive of acquisition costs.

Sask Power is proposing to construct a new substation southeast of Morse, as well as a new 138 kV transmission line.

The provincial environmental assessment of the site was completed in the first quarter of 2012 and submitted to the provincial environmental assessment agency.

In April 2012, the project was deemed a “non-development” by the provincial environmental assessment branch.

This allows the project to proceed towards the construction phase without a full environmental assessment.

The expected date of operation for the projects is in early 2015.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/04/23/saskatchewan-wind-project-moves-forward/